The Troubles We Face
by Sora no Kioku
Summary: SoRiku. GokuTsuna. On their way to help the King, Sora and Riku end up crash landing on a new world. The ship is completely destroyed and must be fixed before they can go anywhere. However, Riku is on the wrong side - and they won't let him go. Discontinued.


A soft groan escaped from his throat as his senses came to him slowly, shifting against the cold surface. Bright blue eyes eyes slid open only to blink a few times until the pupils had dilated enough to where he could see through the darkness that surrounded him. Was it just night or was he swallowed by darkness again...? No, he couldn't have been swallowed... He could see blurred shapes protruding from whatever he was lying against, though he soon found that he couldn't see through his right eye. His body ached. His head throbbed. His lips felt chapped. Even his fingers seemed to not want to move. Everything felt... cold. His eye especially felt the bitter coldness once his senses completely came back to him, forcing him to close it once again. Well, he couldn't see anything out of that eye, anyway... Perhaps he had damaged it when... Oh. That was right. They had landed here; crash landed. Him and-

At the thought of his best friend, the brunette boy quickly sat up, his legs folding beneath him. However, he only realized his mistake after his body sent pulses of surging pain. Everything felt as if it were on fire, but he was just so damn cold at the same time. Acting upon instinct, the boy let out a scream and fell back to the icy ground, his body shaking uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes tightly, trying his best not to scream again. He didn't even know where he was. If he screamed again, it could cause alarm and he could very possibly alarm a potential enemy. There was no way he needed that, not now. He needed to find his friend and get out of there as soon as possible. _'The king... The king needs us...' _the brunette thought as small grunts and hisses escaped his chapped and frozen lips. Thankfully, this helped with him keeping quiet. Well, for the most part, that is.

After what seemed like hours, though he knew it was only minutes, the pain finally subsided and he was able to loosen his jaw and relax against the... What was he against? He opened his eyes again and found out soon enough that his right eye was in fact not damaged and was just covered by what he was laying on – snow. No wonder he felt so cold. He didn't know how long he had been lying there, but he was pretty sure that he had felt a cold weight against his back not too long ago. He let out a long sigh before he quickly drew in a breath and forced himself to move. He couldn't stay there. If he did, he would surely freeze to death. For now, he would just have to ignore the pain until he was able to get somewhere he could heal. Would the heal spell even be able to be used...? Maybe. He would have to try, most definitely.

Grunting and grinding his teeth to make sure he didn't scream again, he carefully drew his arms towards his hidden chest, forcing himself to move his legs to help him in standing. He pushed against the ground, letting out a few groans as his body sent more waves traveling up his arms and to his chest, as if following his blood flow. He tried his best to ignore it, however, and continued to try until he was unsteadily on his feet, swaying back and forth. The whole world spun around him and he just couldn't keep up. His head was pounding and a ringing filled his ears, his senses of balance and coordination failing on him. He could, however, feel himself fall towards the left, wincing as his shoulder slammed into something hard and rough. Only a few more minutes and he was able to see in front of him once more, though now he could tell that it really was night. He pushed away from what he was leaning against and stumbled forward. He nearly let out another scream as he placed all his weight onto his right foot, quickly shifting it to his left foot as he lifted his hand and bit into the area below the thumb so he could help in keeping his voice down. Tears streamed down his cheeks, providing a surprisingly warm trail across his skin.

He glanced down at his ankle to see that it was a lot bigger than what it was supposed to be; almost two or three times the size. Great... This was the last thing he needed, especially now. He leaned against the tree he had fell upon only a moment ago and held his hand out to summon his weapon. Nothing. He furrowed his eyebrows and concentrated. Still nothing... What the hell was wrong? Shouldn't he be able to summon his weapon to him whenever he needed it? This just didn't make any sense! This never happened! He concentrated as hard as he could, staring intently at his partially gloved hand. Nothing at all. Not even a flicker of light. Finally giving up, he let his arm fall back down to his side with a hopeless sigh. So here he was standing alone in the middle of a snow covered forest with a broken or sprained ankle and he had no idea where he was supposed to go. He glanced down at his ankle once more before he took in another breath and stepped forward once again, making sure not to keep weight on his ankle for too long. Though he winced with every other step he took, he managed not to scream and ignored the pain for the most part. He had to find a way out. He had to find out how to use his weapon again. He had to find out where the gummi ship was. He had to find his friend. Drawing in a breath, he called out his friend's name at the top of his lungs.

"Riku!"

He didn't care if he could possibly be in a potential enemy's territory. He didn't care if he was found by someone he didn't know. All he really cared about was searching for his best friend and finding the gummi ship. He didn't want to be alone. He continued to call out Riku's name and limp as far as he could go until the pain was unbearable again, slumping against a tree. He didn't know if he was any closer to the edge of the forest or if he had gone in circles or if he had gotten himself even more lost. He looked down at his swollen ankle and his ice cold hands, watching as they trembled. Whether it was in fear, pain, or because of how cold they were, he didn't know. All he knew was that he was scared and worried out of his mind and he had no way of fixing it. What if something had happened to Riku...? It was the brunette's fault that they had crash landed here... It was his turn to make sure that the gummi ship was on the right course. But he had fallen asleep because Riku already had and he had no way of staying awake. He could feel hot tears roll down his skin again as he thought of all the possibilities and how he could've avoided such a disaster as this. He drew his uninjured leg towards his chest and tried to pull his other ankle towards him, but gave up on that when it started to throb again. He brought his hands up to wipe away the tears that flowed from his eyes, muttering apologies one right after the other.

He rarely ever cried... Yeah, he had cried when he had seen Riku again, but he had known that the other was alive. He had known that due to the various clues that were left around everywhere for him to find in almost every world. He always had hope that the silver-haired male was alive and he had turned out to be. But now... with the shape that the brunette was in... he didn't even know if Riku was okay. He could've very possibly killed him and never even know. He could even stumble across the body and know for sure that he had killed him. He gave up on trying to wipe the tears and let his hands fall away from his face only to wrap around him as he hung his head and let himself cry. He knew that Riku would probably scold him for it and then call him an idiot. The thought of this only made him cry even more. Maybe... he wouldn't be able to see his friend ever again... He wouldn't be able to talk to him, to hear his voice, to argue over little things with him, hell, even to grow stronger with. His thoughts instantly ceased at the crunching of snow, lifting his head and stopping his tears. His chest rose with hope – and it certainly showed in his eyes. He focused on the place where he could hear the sounds of crunching snow, but it was getting even harder to see now that his eyes were sore and the sound was coming from behind the trees.

He forced himself to stand, using the tree as support so he didn't have to use his swollen ankle. "Riku...?" he called out hesitantly, his voice cracking. The crunching of snow stopped, but then started up again. As it became louder, he could tell that it wasn't just one person walking... He couldn't tell how many there were, but they was definitely more than one. It definitely wasn't Riku... His thoughts were confirmed as three men slowly walked out of the trees, each one wearing formal attire. His stomach twisted. There was something definitely wrong... The men were glancing at each other and all of them seemed to be deciding on something. He pressed himself against the tree and tried to steady his breathing as they focused their gaze on him once more, all three of them striding towards him. "Wh-what do you want?" he asked, trying to sound brave. Without his weapon and no way of defending himself, he knew he was pretty much an easy target.

One of them lifted his hand and the brunette could feel his body tense, his breathing coming to a complete stop. The man pulled out a walkie talkie and pressed the button, holding it up to his mouth. "We have found the Vongola Boss. He is heavily injured and has no chance of escaping. None of the guardians are in sight. We will have him there before sunrise," he reported, causing the boy to look at him in confusion. Vongola Boss? What was he talking about...? His lips were sealed shut, but his eyes only grew wider as he saw the rings that each man wore light up with a flame and being placed inside a box. The boxes opened and the boy watched in horror as weapons and animals surrounded in flames were released. How was that even possible? No, that wasn't important now. He knew now that these people were probably not friendly and wouldn't be persuaded with words and reason. He had to run. He had to run _now_.

Before the man could even make a move towards the brunette, he pushed away from the tree and began to limp away as fast as he possibly could. He could feel a numb pain in his ankle, but it was the adrenaline surging through his veins that kept him going and kept him from feeling most of the pain. Still, with the way his ankle was, he couldn't run and could hardly even jog. He glanced back to see the men following after him with long strides, threatening to catch up with him in only an instant. He turned his eyes back in front of him to see a boy around his age step out from behind one of the trees only a few meters ahead of him. His eyes showed that of relief when they fell upon gray hair, but it soon faded when he realized this wasn't the one he was searching for. The boy wasn't glaring at the brunette. In fact, he seemed to be glaring at the men that followed him. Surely this one wasn't on the same side as the men chasing him... right?

No. He couldn't take chances. He quickly changed his direction, but let out a surprised shout when he felt his arm being grabbed. He bit his tongue to keep himself from screaming as he put his full weight on his injured ankle. He instantly wished he hadn't, not liking the coppery taste that filled his mouth afterward. His eyes widened and he stretched his arm forward in an attempt to grab on to the nearest tree as he was tugged backwards, but it was a failed attempt. He soon found himself turned around with a taller body standing in front of him. It only took a moment to realize that he wasn't being put in danger, but rather, being taken away from the danger, for the boy he had seen was now standing between him and the men chasing him. "Jyuudaime, stay behind me. You don't have to fight," he heard. Having no other choice, he merely just nodded. However, this seemed to not be enough approval for the one in front of him looked back towards him. "Okay?" He nodded again.

He didn't even pay attention to what was happening. He stood there in a daze and just watched as his savior battled against the three men. He didn't even know how the hell that gun on his arm had appeared or why there was suddenly a cat and what looked like different disks. Too many thoughts came to his mind. How had all this happened? Who were these people? Who was 'Jyuudaime'? He knew that 'Jyuudaime' meant 'Tenth' in Japanese, but the tenth, _what_? Whatever it was, he didn't know for sure. All he knew was that it was probably someone important, judging by the fact that he was being both chased _and_ protected at the same time. But he was certain that he had never met these people. Before he had even realized it, the fight was over and the boy had even taken it upon himself to beat up the men afterward just to make sure that "they wouldn't follow him", as he soon told the dazed and confused brunette. The 16-year-old boy found himself in the gray-haired boy's arms in a bridal style fashion, his feet bouncing slightly at every step he took. "Why are you carrying me?" he finally asked as he looked up at the other in confusion.

The boy looked down at him and grinned; something Riku never did. A corner of the brunette's mind suddenly wished that Riku would grin like that, but he soon pushed the thought away when the other spoke. "You're hurt. I wouldn't be your right hand man if I made you walk, Jyuudai..." his voice faded as his smile fell and his walking ceased. For what seemed like too long, the two just merely stared at each other, each one just as confused as the other. After a moment, the silver-haired one spoke up, but it was in a soft voice that was filled with realization, "You're not... Jyuudaime."

Cinnamon locks bounced and waved lightly as the boy shook his head. "No... I'm not," he said just as softly. "I don't know who think think I am, but I'm Sora. So-ra. Not 'Jyuudaime' or the... Voila boss." Yeah, he couldn't remember the name and had just replaced it with a French word he knew that started with 'V'. But hey, could you blame him? He was scared out of his mind about the men that he hadn't even thought about remembering the name. The unknown boy let out a 'tch' sound before he walked over to a tree and set the brunette down in front of it, though he was considerate enough to not make him stand. Sora watched as the taller boy stood up and backed away only a few steps, a confused expression clear on his features. He opened his mouth to question the other's motives, but was instantly cut off by the crunching of snow, whipping his head around to focus on it. His shoulder tensed as his eyes glanced at the gray-haired male to see that a ring was engulfed by a red flame, hesitating a bit. How did they do that...? Was it magic? He ignored the thought and turned his attention back to where he could see someone emerging from the trees.

"Gokudera There you are!" The boy ran over to the one he had addressed, who instantly replied with a shouted 'Jyuudaime' and a bright grin. "I heard explosions. Are you okay?" he asked as he looked over the other male. So this was the one that Sora was confused to be... Well, he could certainly see why. He seemed to have a similar body structure and even their hair was rather similar. It was almost scary... However, even in the dim light of the moon that filtered through the trees, Sora could tell that the other brunette's eyes seemed darker. Brown, maybe? Dark green? Dark blue? Well, whatever it was, it was a dark color. He could definitely see how he was confused... He had even confused this 'Gokudera' person for Riku at first. His blue eyes glanced between the two, instantly noticing how happy Gokudera seemed just to see that the 'Jyuudaime' was okay. That was odd... It almost seemed as happy as Sora usually was to see Riku and even Kairi when he had liked her about a year ago. Still, he kept quiet about it as the two chatted away and didn't even seem to pay any attention to him.

Only when he shifted and tried to stand did the conversation halt and attention was drawn to him. He froze in his crouched-down position, almost feeling like a deer in headlights. His eyes glanced between the two in front of him, his lips sealed. The brunette one, Jyuudaime, walked over to Sora and held out his hand. After a moment's hesitation, the blue-eyed one sighed and reached up to grab his hand, letting him help him to his feet. He was careful not to put much weight on his right foot, not wanting to upset his ankle. He reached over and used the tree as support so he can take all the weight off of his foot completely. "Hey, can you walk?" the darker-eyed male asked as he looked over Sora carefully. Without even waiting for a reply, he looked over at his friend. "Can you carry him, Gokudera? I don't want him to hurt himself more than he is..." As Sora had somewhat expected, the gray-haired male nodded and carefully picked the injured male up again, just as he had only a few moments ago.

Thankfully, it didn't take much convincing to let Sora stay over at Tsuna's house. He sighed as he stared up the ceiling, his hands folded neatly on his stomach. He was allowed to rest in Tsuna's bed for the time being and now was only waiting for his mother to bring in something he could sleep on, preferably a comforter or something like that. He was surprised with the hospitality shown by the other brunette's family and could even feel a pang of nostalgia from it. Even when Nana had called them down for dinner only an hour ago, he could remember his own mother's voice. And to think that it was just yesterday that he last sat down and had dinner with his small, yet loving family... He sighed lightly and let his eyes slide close. He sure hoped that his mother would be fine and wouldn't go crazy from him being gone for so long. Then again, he was gone for a whole year at one point... Even if she had forgotten about him during that time, she still seemed overjoyed to have him back.

His eyes snapped open and he instantly sat up when he heard a voice near him, his eyes wide as he looked around only to see that Tsuna and Reborn were the only two there. He quickly calmed himself down and glanced between the two. Which one had spoken...? Scratch that, what had been said in the first place? The answer soon became clear as the small baby spoke. "You're just as no-good as Tsuna. Weren't you listening to me?" he asked as he sipped at his drink. The brunette admittedly shook his head, though it was not in shame. He wasn't afraid to show that he wasn't listening when he was supposed to. A sigh escaped the smallest one's lips, the light tap of a cup against the table seeming a lot louder than what it actually was, and he decided to repeat what he had said, "You said that you had a weapon, one that only you and a few others can wield. Could you show us that weapon?"

The savior of the worlds glanced around nervously. He had hoped this topic wouldn't be brought up, but it seemed that it had been... He definitely didn't want to reveal that he couldn't summon his own weapon. Finally, he sighed in defeat and laid back down, folding his hands across his stomach once more. "It's called a Keyblade. Riku has one, too. I can't give much away. It's against the rules. I can't show you it because I can't figure out how to get it to appear," he explained, turning his head so he could study Tsuna's and Reborn's expressions. He chewed on his lower lip nervously as the Arcobaleno hummed in thought. Well, at least he wasn't called 'no good' again. So that was a good thing, right? He finally sighed and sat up, turning his body ever so slightly so that he wouldn't upset his ankle, though he had to use his hand to prop himself up. "Before, I had no trouble summoning it. I had been battling with it for over a year now, but I just can't seem to summon it anymore. I've tried time and time again already and-"

"You haven't tried your ring yet, have you?" Reborn cut in, turning his head so that he looked directly at Sora, though it was hard to tell just where his eyes were directed due to how dark they were.

The brunette gave the other a genuinely confused look. "Ring? What ring?"

"The one on your finger."

"I don't have a ring on my- Oh..." As he looked down, he saw that he did in fact have a ring on his finger; his middle finger, to be exact. This thoroughly confused him even more so than what he was. How did he get a ring on his finger? He lifted his hand and studied the silver ring. He was pretty sure he didn't get this before... He looked at the ring resting gently on his right middle finger with a confused expression, having to lean forward and sit straightforward so he wouldn't fall. "I... haven't seen this before. I have a necklace that looks like it, but other than that, I've never seen it," he said softly as he lowered his hand once again and returned his gaze to the Arcobaleno. Instantly he noticed that the expression was much too hard for him to read – and that unnerved him. What if that was a bad thing...? His stomach twisted in panic and uncertainty as he waited for someone to say something – anything!

He gave a hesitant glance towards the other brunette in the room, who shook his head as a silent way of saying that he didn't know what to make of it. Another hum interrupted the silence that had befallen the three in the room, drawing the attention of the two teenagers. "Maybe it's that way for a reason. You said you weren't from around here and had woken up in the forest. Maybe you had been given the ring before you passed out and don't remember. Blows to the head could do to that and you definitely have a few of those," the hitman soon concluded as he tipped his head upwards only slightly so he could focus on Sora a bit more. "Even I don't know what could be the true reason, but you need to learn how to use your ring."

The Keyblade wielder nodded after only a moment's hesitation, but said nothing more. He realized that it would probably be best to just sit back and do as he was told and only speak if he needed to or if he had questions that had to be answered. The baby had already proven himself to be much stronger – and more more dangerous – than what he appeared to be. There was no way he would defy someone like that or even try to get on his bad side. However, the silence that had once again settled into place was too much for the foreigner. "Could... Could you teach me?" he asked, not missing the look of surprise that came across Tsuna's features and the smirk that had taken over Reborn's previously unreadable lips. The black-haired male turned his head towards the Vongola Boss, seeming rather satisfied with the question he had heard. The order that had reached both brunette's ears left both of them shocked and one of them visually stressed.

"Tsuna, I will give you the task of teaching Sora the power of the rings and boxes."

"One more time." After those three simple words, the ring had engulfed itself in a clear orange flame, the bearer of the ring staring directly at his pupil. It had been a week since he was given the task of teaching the newcomer, but still there was no luck. There wasn't much they could do for the first few days while Sora was healing from his badly sprained ankle, but now they were at least able to go outside and practice. They had both hoped that some fresh air and solitude would help with lighting Sora's ring. Tsuna watched as brown eyebrows furrowed together in concentration before he sighed softly and lowered his hand to his side, the flame around his ring dissipating. "Resolve, Sora. Resolve."

Sora nodded once more before he tried again. It was pretty clear that he still didn't grasp exactly what 'resolve' was or even what he was trying to accomplish. In his mind, he wanted to learn how to use the flames so that he could find out how to use the box he had found. But apparently, that wasn't what he was supposed to be looking for. He had never thought that using a weapon would be so hard... He finally sighed and gave up once more, lowering his hand. He felt horrible for not learning how to use the ring, even though it had been so long. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the box he was pretty sure held the Keyblade within it, considering that it had a symbol of a key on two of the sides. He leaned against the tree and fiddled with the box some more, tossing it up before he caught it again. "I can't see to do it. No matter how hard I try, I can't get that flame thing to appear," he said with a soft sigh. He tossed it up and caught it again, closing his eyes as he tilted his head back. He could hear footsteps nearing him, but he knew that it was just Tsuna, considering that they were the only ones in this part of the forest. Or at least, he was pretty sure that they were.

He hummed lightly in questioning when he felt a hand pat his shoulder lightly, but didn't even bother to open his eyes. He found no reason to. The hand slipped away from his shoulder and he frowned when he heard no answer. He was about to voice his question, but instantly opened his eyes when he felt the box pulled from his grasp, blue eyes focusing on brown ones only to notice that they were concentrating on the box. "I can't even tell what element it is... It's got silver decorating and a white box. I haven't seen a box like this before," the brown-eyed male said as he turned the box over in his hand. The other just hummed in agreement and shoved his hands in his pockets, tilting his head back and closing his eyes ones more. "Do you have any idea?" Tsuna asked.

"Nope. Not a clue."

A small hum came from the boss's throat before he sighed and nudged the slightly taller male with the box in his hand. Letting one eyelid open, Sora focused his vision on the other. He took the box that was being handed to him without any objections or comments, pushing himself away from the tree. He then turned so that he could face Tsuna, pulling his hand out of his pocket after he slid the box back. "So... what exactly do I need to do for this whole resolve thing?" he asked once again only to get a small laugh from his new friend.

"We're too much alike sometimes."

"Geniuses think alike," Sora returned with a bright grin that only made both of the teenagers burst out into laughter. After a few moments, they finally calmed down and the taller one casually leaned his shoulder against the tree, pulling out the box so he could fiddle with it once more. Of course, as he did this, his eyes focused solely on the box in his hands. He listened intently as the other tried once again to explain was resolve was and why it was needed to light the flame for the ring. He furrowed his eyebrows as he tried once again to comprehend it all. After the explaining was completely finished once more, he looked down at the ring on his finger. He still didn't understand completely, but... how the hell was he supposed to? Before, all he needed was the will to fight against the Heartless and viola, he was able to summon the Keyblade. Now, he actually needed something else; something much different. Whatever it was, it was definitely out of his grasp... Or at least, that's what he was pretty sure of.

His eyes soon widened as he came to a realization. "That's... not it..." he murmured to himself. He hadn't summoned the Keyblade just by the want to fight against the Heartless. The want and need to do that had come from his main goal; finding his friends and bringing them home safely. And along the way, he had helped others that he had called his friends, even if he didn't know them. He glanced up when he heard Tsuna question him as to what he meant, but his eyes soon focused on the hand that he usually held the Keyblade with. "I wanted to bring them home, both Riku and Kairi. I wanted to save Riku from the darkness and even sacrificed myself to save Kairi. I wanted to go back to a normal life... I didn't fight for myself or because I was told to," he said softly, the 'resolve' concept becoming even clearer to him. His lips formed a thin line before he clenched his fist and lowered it to his side. "I want... to bring Riku home. I want to make sure he's okay and be able to sit and watch the sunset on Destiny Islands with Riku and Kairi again. I want to make sure all the worlds are safe. Not because I'm chosen to do it, but so that I can continue to live a normal life and know that all my friends and everyone I've come across are safe."

He soon smiled slightly as he remembered all the fun times that him, Riku, and Kairi had, just sitting on the beach and talking. He leaned back against the tree, memories of the times before the worlds were connected flooding into his mind and playing over and over again. He knew so little then and it seemed that he still had much more to learn. He definitely wanted to go back. He wanted to be able to smile and laugh truthfully again; no more fake smiles or forced laughter, no more pretending everything was okay when it's not, no more venturing far from home, no more having to search for friends. His smile faded and he was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a voice, tilting his head down only slightly so that he could focus on Tsuna in curiosity. He soon realized that he wasn't looking directly at him, but rather down towards his side. Curious as to what he was looking at, he followed the other's gaze down to his hand only to have his eyes widen in surprise. A bright orange flame flickered around the silver ring, shining brightly and proudly.

A wide grin found itself tugging at the Keyblader's lips until he finally gave in and let it overtake his will. Finally... Now he would be able to protect himself and fight in this world in order to find Riku and get out of here. "Sora. Your box," he heard. He nodded and reached into his pocket, pulling it out. He followed the few simple instructions and placed the ring inside of the hole found at the top, just as he had seen the men do when he first came here. He pulled the ring back out and watched as it opened a light emitted from it. Within moments, a shining Keyblade was tightly gripped in his hand, showing off all of its glory. He placed the box back into his pocket as he felt the familiar weight of his weapon, lifting it up slightly.

He sighed in relief and lifted his head to look back at Tsuna. "This is the Keyblade, my weapon. I've been using this for a few years now," he explained, rather proud with his new-found way to summon his Keyblade. He felt that it would be a pain to keep doing this every single time he had to summon his weapon, but he felt that it was worth it if it meant that he would be able to bring Riku back to Destiny Islands. He lowered the key-shaped weapon and grinned at Tsuna. He opened his mouth to speak, but was instantly cut off with a very familiar voice.

"There you are. I've been looking for you."

He knew that voice way to well. There was no way he could mistaken that voice for someone else's; there was no way. He quickly pushed away from the tree and turned to face the speaker. There was only one person it could be – and he was standing right there with one hand shoved in his pocket and his azure gaze gently studying the tanner brunette. All the Keyblade bearer could do was whisper the name that accompanied the voice.

"Riku."


End file.
